His name is giving "cowardice," but Ivar the Boneless was about as cuddly as a piranha with anger issues. This ruthless Viking leader of the Great Heathen Army terrorised England and Ireland, moonlighting as Ímar, the Viking king of Dublin. So, what about that moniker?

Legend has it his "bonelessness" came from a curse - his parents' rushed wedding night left him with weak bones. Others think he had a crippling disease, which is less fun but probably more accurate.

Ivar kicked the Viking bucket in 873, but his legend lives on. Some think a 9-foot skeleton found in Repton, England, is his. If true, "Boneless" might be the biggest historical irony since Greenland got its name.